Friday, March 21, 2014

NEW(-ish): Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer Taffy Tart

YAY, TEXTURE!!!! It's been a hot minute since I've blogged one. I've actually worn (and loved) a certain textured polish twice this year, but it's such a PITA to photograph that I've given up for the moment and moved on.

And you guys, this is a pretty good texture to move on with, especially after the aberration that was Sally Hansen Mint Tint. I'm repeating myself, but Sally Hansen is my favorite drugstore brand, which made Mint Tint's epic fail really disappointing to me. Taffy Tart may not boast the full-on glitz of, say, a Sinful Crystal Crush or a Zoya PixieDust, but it's a step in the right direction.

[A note about Taffy Tart: I found it at a CVS near the beginning of February, but it was not in a special freestanding display. It was, surprisingly, nestled with the other six SH Sugar Shimmers (that is, Mint Tint and friends) in the core SH wall display. I haven't seen this at all the CVSes I frequent; I've only seen it at two CVS stores, one near my parents' and the one near B's house, both in fairly affluent sections of town. Funny how those stores always get the good stuff.]

Three coats.

Notice anything? The gold shimmer IS visible! And it completely freaked out my phone cam, but that's okay. I was so happy that it showed up and that Taffy Tart resembled actual textured polishes, as opposed to cottage cheese (can you tell I'm still pissed about Mint Tint?). Both the shimmer and the roughness of the texture die down significantly after two days, but I think that's par for the course with textures and I'm fine with that.

This is NOT a dupe for Zoya Sunshine. For one thing, this has golden shimmer and Sunshine does not. As far as the blue base color goes, this is more ... denim? (Though not quite as denim-y as OPI Alcatraz/FingerPaints Sparkle in the Sky.) I don't own Sunshine (yet), but I do remember seeing it at Ulta last year and IIRC, it was a more saturated blue than this polish is. It is really pretty, though, and it got a compliment from one of our admin ladies at work last week.

I didn't have any issues with the formula or application. I think you could make yourself happy using just two coats of Taffy Tart for evenness and opacity, but of course the color isn't as gorgeous as it would be if you used three. ;) I wore it for two days with no chips, although I did have some tip wear on my right hand from scrubbing and cleaning. Again, I don't have a problem with this because textures are my go-to when I don't have time or patience to deal with fussy polishes or top coat. I don't even double up on base coat with them unless they're going to stain (this one did not). That's how lazy I am!

As I said, I found this in the core SH display at CVS. I haven't seen Taffy Tart pop up at Target or Walgreens yet; I don't know if this polish eventually will be available en masse, or whether only a few stores are going to stock it. CVS does feature it on its Web site for $5.99; there's also another Sugar Shimmer on the site called Gummy Grape that I don't remember seeing in store. Not sure if that one's worth tracking down yet, though. Just throwing that one out there. (NOTE: Ulta also has Taffy Tart and Gummy Grape on its site for $5.99.)

I'm really happy with Taffy Tart, even if it's not an in-my-face sparkle party like some other textures are. If you like blue textures, go for it! I've got three more Sugar Shimmers to try, and I hope they're more in keeping with Taffy Tart than Mint Tint.

But what do you guys think? Will you look for this one, or give it a pass? And can anyone weigh in on the name? I've never been a taffy lover, so I don't get it. I even Googled "blue taffy," and the blue that shows up in my image search is way lighter than this.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed having a post every day this week -- I still have so much catching up to do, so cross your fingers that I can work on more swatches and posts this weekend! I'm still not sure if I'm going to visit B tomorrow -- as much as I would love to, it depends on how I'm feeling by the end of today. I'm not "swing low, sweet chariot," but I'm not at 100%, either. Aaaaaanyway, have a good weekend and come back on Monday for a polish from China Glaze City Flourish! Spoiler: I LOVE it. :D

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STUFF about me ...

A nail diary powered by Droid pictures, commentary, and LOTS of pop culture since July 2011.

I get really excited about random things and I want you to get excited, too! I talk too much, am a compulsive three-coater and one of the most atypical, ridiculous Virgos you will ever meet. Sterling Meowlory isn't my cat.